The Original Mission
by suzie2b
Summary: A sequel to "No Other Way"


**Disclaimer: **_**The Rat Patrol**_** is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.**

**Author's note: This is tullyfan's fault. She wondered what the original mission was to be.**

**The Original Mission**

**By Suzie2b**

**Tully walked into the mess tent and located Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch. He went over and sat down with his friends and Troy asked, "Well?"**

**Tully handed the sergeant a sheet of paper with a smile. "Dr. Levine cleared me to go back to work, sarge."**

**Troy took the paper and looked it over. "Good, things have been way too quiet without you."**

**Hitch asked, "Did the commander give us another patrol to take care of?"**

"**Nope. I got a message from Captain Boggs. It was decided that the mission we'd started when Tully was shot needs to be finished."**

**Moffitt said, "I thought High Command was sending in someone else to finish it."**

**Troy gave a nod. "So did I, but apparently spotters noticed that Lt. Col. Richter's battalion has increased in size by about 200. High Command decided we're the only ones who can handle this now."**

**Tully said, "It's been weeks. That battalion might have moved by now."**

"**That's the other thing. As soon as the Germans saw our spotter planes, they pulled up stakes and disappeared."**

**Moffitt frowned. "How can a battalion of close to 800 men and their equipment just disappear?"**

**Troy shrugged. "I have no idea. All the message said was they were there and then two days later they were gone … and no one's been able to find them."**

**Hitch guessed, "I bet they went into those hills to the south."**

**Tully agreed. "Yeah. They could hide in the canyon and it wouldn't be easy for even the planes to spot them."**

**Moffitt smiled slightly. "Well, it would seem we have a place to start looking then."**

**Troy looked at his fellow sergeant. "So you agree with them?"**

"**Yes. It makes sense."**

"**Okay then, we're in agreement. Are the jeeps ready?"**

**Hitch said, "Tully helped me with them when the three of us got back yesterday."**

**Troy glared at the privates. "You helped with the jeeps before the doctor cleared you? And you let him?"**

**Tully said, "I needed something to do, sarge. I was careful."**

**Hitch added, "I made sure he didn't do any heavy lifting, sarge."**

**Moffitt said, "It isn't going to do any good to chide them now, Troy. The deed's been done."**

**Troy sighed. "Yeah. We'd better get going. With luck we'll be at those hills before sundown."**

**##################**

**The day was waning when the hills came into view. Troy decided to take to the cover of a nearby waterhole for the night. He reasoned, "There isn't much cover there unless we climb into the hills, and I'd rather not do that in the dark."**

**Moffitt agreed with a nod. "We can get an early start and be there in two hours tops."**

"**Hitch, Tully, do you remember if there's a way to drive up into the hills?"**

**Hitch said, "We came across a trail. I think the jeeps will just fit."**

**Tully added, "Hitch and I walked up through there last time. It comes to an end in a little less than a mile, but we can hide the jeeps there."**

**Troy said, "That's what we'll do then."**

**The night was quiet and still. There was no moon and the desert was black. Troy wandered out to relieve Tully on watch. The private could hear the sergeant before he could see him.**

**Tully was leaning on a tree and said quietly, "Evenin', sarge."**

**Troy stopped next to his friend. "It's after midnight."**

**Tully gave a shrug. "Mornin', sarge."**

**Troy chuckled then asked, "Anything moving out there?"**

"**If there is, I'd probably hear it, but I don't think I'd see it until it was on toppa me."**

"**Yeah, it is dark tonight. You'd better go get some rest."**

**Tully pushed off the tree. "Okay, I'll see ya when the sun comes up."**

**##################**

**After a quick K-ration breakfast with coffee, the four Allies headed off to their destination. At the base of the hills, Hitch and Tully drove them around to where a trail cut up and around the boulders – if you didn't know it was there, you could have easily missed it.**

**The jeeps clawed their way up the steep grade with only a few inches on either side. Then it leveled out and came to an end.**

**Troy said, "Cover the jeeps. I don't want to take a chance they'll be seen from the air. Moffitt, let's take a look at the map."**

**It wasn't long before Hitch and Tully had things ready to go and the jeeps covered. Troy and Moffitt had found the canyon on the map and had plotted their direction.**

**It was a rough climb, but it wasn't too long before they reached the cliffs overlooking a long canyon that cut through the hills. With binoculars Troy and Moffitt surveyed the Germans they saw below.**

**Moffitt reported, "There are guards at this end of the canyon with a tank."**

**Troy said, "Same thing at the other end."**

**They watched as several patrols left the canyon and Tully said, "It's a good thing we hid the jeeps where we did."**

**Moffitt asked, "With this much weaponry and all these men, what do you think they're up to?"**

**Troy replied, "I'm guessing they're waiting for word on some kind of attack. We're near the border between Allied and Axis lines. They could be getting ready for a push."**

**Hitch said, "So maybe they didn't run because of our spotters. Maybe they were waiting for those reinforcements before they moved."**

"**Yeah, it's a definite possibility."**

**Troy said, "We need to find a way to keep them here until we can notify Captain Boggs."**

**Tully suggested, "We could blow both ends of the canyon. They'd be trapped."**

**Moffitt said, "That would be a good idea, but we don't have enough explosives."**

**They were silent for a minute, then Troy said, "Wait a minute. We could get enough explosives to do the job. Let me see the map." Moffitt handed it to him and Troy studied it before he circled a spot with a finger. "It's here. A German supply cache."**

"**I remember … but we discovered that months ago. Do you think it's still there?"**

"**Only one way to find out. We'd be able to get ahold of enough explosives to blow up this entire canyon."**

**Moffitt said, "Our original mission was basically recon. We were to observe the battalion's movements and discover what they were up to. There was nothing said about blowing things up. What if High Command has their own idea on how to handle things?"**

**Troy said, "We have a pretty good idea what they're up to and we have an opportunity to stop it."**

"**But our orders…"**

"**I understand what our order were, but things have changed, Moffitt. Look, we can't do anything until tonight. I'll get a message off to Captain Boggs. He can decide if we should handle it our way or not."**

**Moffitt finally nodded. "All right. I can agree with that."**

**Troy said, "Okay, Hitch, stay put and keep an eye on them. The rest of us will go back to the jeeps and get that message off."**

"**Right, sarge."**

**Back at the jeeps Troy wrote out the message and made sure Moffitt agreed with it. Then he coded it and handed it to Tully. "Send it and wait for an answer. Moffitt and I will go back and wait with Hitch."**

**Tully started to uncover his jeep just enough to get to the radio. "I'm on it, sarge."**

**It was midafternoon when the answer came. Tully wrote the short message down and decoded it, then rushed off to get it to Troy.**

**Troy read the message and looked at Moffitt. "High Command wants us to do it. They're giving us until 0800 hours to get the job done, then B-32s will come in to finish the job."**

**Hitch asked, "Why not just let the bombers do the work?"**

"**Bombers aren't always totally accurate. Our job is to trap the Germans in the canyon so the planes don't need to be prefect. They just need to bring the hills down around them."**

**Moffitt nodded knowingly. "Right. So as soon as it's dark, we go pick up the explosives."**

**##################**

**They waited and made plans as they watched the Germans. All of the patrols returned as the sun got low in the sky. Then they went back to the jeeps to get ready to go.**

**As the jeeps were uncovered, Troy said, "Let's wait at the bottom of the trail so Hitch and Tully aren't trying to navigate in the dark going down."**

**No one mentioned the fact that they would be going back up in the dark when they returned.**

**They sat in the shadows at the base of the hill. When the desert was dark, they were off.**

**Two and a half hours later the jeeps stopped in front of a cave. The four Allies slipped out of the jeeps with flashlights and went inside. They found supplies piled high – everything needed to close that canyon off. The jeeps were quickly loaded with TNT, C-4 satchel charges, detonators, and timers.**

**The moon was a silver sliver in the sky as the jeeps skimmed the desert floor, then made their way back up the rocky trail. However, this time the jeeps were heavily loaded, making the steep climb more difficult and slower than the first time.**

**Without a word, packs were stuffed with as much explosive equipment as the Allies could carry. Then the two teams disappeared into the darkened hillsides – Troy and Hitch went to one end while Moffitt and Tully took the other.**

**They knew their time was limited, so they had to work as fast as they could and be as accurate setting the explosives as possible. Luckily there wasn't enough moon to give light to what they were doing. Their flashlights gave them all they needed.**

**Troy and Hitch moved as quickly as possible over and around the boulders to get down to the canyon. They saw two dark figures making their way back and forth in front of the opening.**

**Troy signaled Hitch to start placing charges as high as possible. The private gave a nod began to climb.**

**Moffitt and Tully, according to the plan, went to the other end of the canyon where the rock made an arch above the opening. Tully carefully made his way across the arch while Moffitt began to set his charges. Below them, they could just make out the two guards as they moved slowly across the opening.**

**Troy moved as close to the opening as he dared and began to set his charges and timers, all while keeping an eye on the guards – as long as he stayed close to the cliff face they wouldn't be able to make out his movements in the dark.**

**Hitch stuffed charges and timers into any hole and crevice he could find. Unfortunately, he discovered that two of his timers had somehow been damaged and wouldn't set properly and the charges were too far apart for one to set off another. Hitch knew he had to figure out a way to get them to explode.**

**Tully made it across the arch and set his charges and timers as he'd been told to do. Then began the trip back across to Moffitt. However, this time he stepped on a loose rock. As it rolled under his foot, Tully went down and the rock went over the edge.**

**On the desert floor the rock hit the sand with a thud and a small spray of sand. One of the guards found it half buried with his flashlight. He looked up and shined his beam of light around, but saw nothing unusual and went back to what he was doing.**

**Tully lay where he fell as Moffitt watched the flashlight's beam below. When the light went out, the sergeant signaled Tully to move.**

**As soon as Hitch climbed down, he and Troy made their way back up to where the jeeps were.**

**When they reached the jeeps, Hitch said, "I didn't get them all set, sarge."**

**Troy growled, "Why not?"**

"**Two of the timers were damaged … but I have an idea how to take care of it."**

**Just then Moffitt and Tully appeared. Moffitt said, "We're all set."**

**Troy said, "Well, we're not."**

**Hitch quickly asked, "Tully, I saw you pack your bazooka before leaving Ras Tanura, didn't I?"**

"**Yeah, Betty's in the jeep. What's up?"**

"**I had a couple of timers that wouldn't set properly…"**

**Tully nodded. "And you want me to set 'em off for ya."**

**Hitch smiled slightly. "Think you can do it?"**

"**Sure. It'll be light enough when everything starts blowing up. Did you mark where they are?"**

"**Yeah, I did."**

**Troy said, "Okay, you two go get ready. We're running out of time and we have to be out of here before the bombers start dropping their payload."**

**Moffitt followed Tully over to the jeep and asked, "You actually named a bazooka 'Betty'?"**

**Tully smiled as he reached for the weapon. "Yeah. Why?"**

"**I just wonder about this issue Americans have with naming inanimate objects."**

**Tully gave a chuckle as he retrieved two of the rockets. "We name the things we like."**

**Moffitt asked curiously, "But why?"**

**Tully shrugged. "Because we like them." He turned and looked at Hitch. "I'm ready."**

**Hitch grabbed the binoculars and the two privates set off.**

**##################**

**Hitch led the way to what he thought would be a good spot to see the target. He and Tully sat down on the ground to wait and watch the time.**

**Troy and Moffitt found a place where they could watch the Germans below as the sky lightened.**

**Tully looked at his watch – it was 7:39am and the explosives were set to go off at 7:45. "Can you see the target?"**

**Hitch peered through the binoculars. "Yeah, clear as day." He handed the field glasses to Tully. "I set up a tower of rocks. It's at our 11:00. I figured if you hit that, it should set off the bombs."**

**Tully quickly located the rocks. "Got it." He loaded Betty up with one of the rockets and got to his knees. Tully checked the time and began a countdown in his head as he lifted the bazooka onto his shoulder. He tilted his head and looked through the eyepiece. After locating the target again, Tully put it in the crosshairs.**

**At precisely 7:45 the explosives began to go off one after the other and Tully pulled the trigger. Betty's rocket hit the target easily, setting off the two bombs with the damaged timers.**

**Tully grinned proudly and Hitch smiled as he said, "Dead-on! Perfect!" The ground shook under them as the canyon walls at both ends and the arch began to fall. "Let's go!"**

**Hitch and Tully met Troy and Moffitt at the jeeps. Tully quickly stowed the bazooka and got in behind the wheel with Moffitt beside him. Hitch led the way down the trail as fast as he dared with Troy hanging on in the passenger seat.**

**Once they were in the open the drivers floored the gas pedals and headed into the rising sun. When they were safely away from the carnage they'd started, Troy called for them to stop.**

**As soon as the engines were switched off, they heard the droning sound of the B-32 bombers and seconds later they flew over on their way to their target.**

**Troy looked at his watch. It read 7:58. "They're early."**

**The Allies waited and watched the bombers drop the payload. Even at a distance the explosions were quite impressive. As they watched rock and debris fly high in the air, each felt a sense of satisfaction.**

**Tully asked, "Are we going back to make sure the Germans are finished?"**

**Troy said, "No. If there are any survivors, I'd just as soon not know about it."**

**Moffitt sighed and asked, "Where to next?"**

"**Let's find someplace to hide and get some rest. Preferably in Allied territory. Then we'll head for base."**

**##################**

**They each had gotten about four hours rest and a hot meal before Troy decided it was time to head out. He caught Tully rubbing his side and asked, "You all right?"**

**Tully nodded. "Yeah, just a little sore."**

**Moffitt said, "I'm not surprised. I suspect Dr. Levine wouldn't be too happy with what you've been doing since your release."**

"**I don't expect I'll go back to that field hospital and discuss it with him."**

**Hitch asked, "How long will it take to get back to base, sarge?"**

**Troy replied, "If we drive straight through, we should be there by midnight."**

**Tully sighed. "Night drivin'. Not my favorite thing to do."**

"**I didn't say we would do it. I just said we could." Troy smiled a bit and said, "We'll drive until sundown and go the rest of the way in the morning."**

"**That's more like it."**

**Moffitt smiled. "If we get an early start, we should be home before noon."**

**Hitch inquired, "Do you think Captain Boggs will give us the rest of the day off? I'd like to spend a little time with Daisy."**

**Troy nodded. "I'm sure Moffitt and I can work something out with the captain."**

**Tully sighed. "Haven't been with Charley in nearly a month."**

**Moffitt gave a nod and said, "Well then, I suggest we get going. The farther we go today, the sooner we get home tomorrow."**

**Troy couldn't agree more as he looked around at his men. "Okay, let's shake it."**


End file.
